The present invention relates to an arrangement for automatic release of occupant protecting devices in the event of an accident in vehicles, especially power vehicles.
It is known to determine the deviation of a position sensor with the aid sensors arranged in corners of a rectangle. The produced signals are evaluated in an evaluating circuit, and the changes in the sensor signals which are dependent on the distance of the position sensor from the corners of the rectangular surface is utilized as a value for the distance and as a control signal for a correcting member. The arrangement is however relatively complicated and also expensive for a mass installation in power vehicles as a releasing device.
The German document DE-OS No. 3,342,186 discloses an acceleration pick-up which operates on the principle of eddy currents. In this pick-up a seismic mass is arranged on a bending spring. Its distance to a coil through which a high frequency alternating current flows changes because of the accelerating force acting on it. However, in this construction a change of the distance is possible only perpendicularly to the plane of the coil. The power of the magnetic field is uniformly distributed over the whole surface of the seismic mass. A concentration of the field lines through a perforated member which coats the coil and is provided with a slot is not possible.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,678,763 describes an acceleration pick-up which has a mass suspended on a pendulum. With the aid of a permanent magnet, the seismic mass is fixed in an initial position and produces a measuring signal upon exceeding a predetermined threshold. Predetermined mechanical contacts are then closed by the seismic mass.